Latitude Magazine -- available soon for the iPad.

Apple’s introduction of the new iPad has provided a new-found enthusiasm in the journalism world for its promise as a media content delivery device. Circulation numbers of traditional newspapers remained relatively stable until the 1990’s when numbers began declining significantly. Today, more people receive their news from the internet than newspapers, and as a result, many newspapers are suffering severe revenue shortages as they struggle to survive. Many smaller regional newspapers have simply ceased publication.

Magazines dedicated to photojournalism have suffered a similar fate. In fact, their demise occurred much earlier. Life Magazine was at one time the premier publishing platform for some of the most famous photojournalists of our time — legends such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, and Alfred Eisenstaedt. Life Magazine, born in 1883, was highly successful for over two generations, but finally succumb in April 2007 to changing public tastes, and of course economics.

The iPad holds tremendous promise as a way for magazines such as Life to reemerge in the “new media” age. Many publications associated with traditional newsstands have already jumped on the iPad bandwagon. Magazines such as Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, Time, and GQ, are already providing dynamic electronic content for the iPad. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal also now publish electronic editions. It is true that many people are wary of devices such as the iPad, Kindle, and Nook. But with more and more people getting their information from electronic media, the future business model of print journalism will be forced to adapt.

Latitude Magazine is a historical record of the world as it exists on one day. On the 14th of each month, contributors will photograph the daily lives of interesting individuals, communities or workplaces in a manner that expands our understanding of the world. I am proud to have been selected as a contributing photographer to the magazine, and I look forward to the response by all our new readers.

The first edition of Latitude Magazine will soon appear in the Apple App store, and subsequent editions will issue monthly.